Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee output jumps to record high in 2013

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Rainforest Alliance said on
Friday, the amount of coffee grown on its certified farms rose
by 20 percent in 2013, making up a record 5.2 percent of global
bean output as companies like McDonald's Corp ramped up
purchases.

In 2013, 454,962 million tonnes (1 billion lbs) of the
world's coffee was grown on Rainforest Alliance certified farms,
with increased demand from companies such as McDonald's USA,
McDonald's Canada, Second Cup and Green Mountain Coffee
driving the growth.

New York-based Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade USA are
two of several international commodity auditors such as Fair
Trade International and Utz. Each has its own regulations to
ensure that agricultural products are grown in a way that will
not harm the environment while promoting socio-economic growth
with premium payments that are typically passed along to
consumers.

In 2012, Rainforest Alliance's certified coffee production
grew by 45 percent from a year earlier and made up 4.5 percent
of global output.

Meanwhile, Fair Trade USA certified coffee imports saw the
impact of Central America's worst-ever leaf-rust disease
outbreak. Its primarily North American imports fell last year to
around 154 million lbs, down from the previous record set in
2012 at 163 million lbs, the Oakland, California-based auditor
said in an email to Reuters.
(Reporting by Marcy Nicholson, editing by G Crosse)